The light streamed through the window, right into the small room, and onto the bed where a young lady no more than fifteen lay under the sheets. Her face was pale, her black hair strandy, with dark circles under her eyes, like she had not managed to get any sleep in days.
The room was decent and clean, but didn't have much inside, beyond the bed, a bedside cupboard, and a television that was turned on and showing a movie that she wasn't watching. Her eyes were shut, like she was trying to get some sleep.
On the cupboard was a tray of drugs, a lot of drugs, laying there, some finished and some brand new.
Knock knock.
Two knocks came from the door, then it slowly opened, grinding on its old, weathered hinges, making a slightly unpleasant sound.
A young man of about eighteen walked in, average height, black hair and eyes, dressed in a black T-shirt and trousers. He held a tray of warm porridge, made beautifully. It didn't look to have a lot of ingredients, yet it gave off a wonderful smell and looked edible.
"Hey, you awake?" he called out. His voice was soft and caring. He walked to the other side, pushing the drug tray to the side and placing the food down.
"Sorry for leaving the curtains up," he said, and walked to the window, dropping them down.
The girl's eyes flickered open. She turned her head to look at him.
"Hey, brother," she said with a soft smile.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, walking to the bed and sitting beside her.
"Well, a bit better, since I was able to get some sleep today," she replied. He saw her genuine response and the happiness in her eyes. She was really happy over some sleep. It cracked his heart. He clenched his jaw, fighting to hold back the tears.
He was Kai, Kai Silva, a broke young adult who had to take care of his terminally ill sister after his mother died. He never knew his father, so he was out of the picture.
"I guess that's good then, Aoi," he replied, leaning forward and kissing her on the head.
"By the weekend, we'll head to the hospital for some tests and drugs, okay?" he said.
"Hospital? Where did you get money from?" she asked.
"Don't worry about that. Someone gave me a major gift yesterday while streaming. It is enough for me to get you to the hospital," he said, ensuring his voice sounded uplifting.
"I see, thank you," she replied. Normally she would ask him to forget about her and spend it on himself, but she knew her brother. It was her or nothing else. He lived every second of his life for her.
Kai was very good at games, especially virtual reality RPG games. He got into streaming because that was the only way he knew how to make money and also stay close to his sister every day.
Sadly, even then, he was broke, mostly because of her expenses, but never in his life would he blame her. He blamed himself for not being good enough, for not knowing how to put out the right content. He blamed himself.
"Alright, time to eat," he said, helping her up and then feeding her slowly. She ate everything, which made him happy. She seemed to be getting better over the last few days.
After he was done, he wanted to spend some time with her, but she fell right asleep, so he packed up and left the room.
He shut the door outside and leaned his back against it. Tears ran down his cheek. He clenched his jaw hard, fighting against it, but couldn't help it.
Inside the room, his sister opened her eyes. She looked at the door. A tear rolled down her eyes as well. More than anything in this world, she wanted her brother to be happy, but she ended up being his greatest source of pain.
And she couldn't allow herself to die, because she knew for a fact that if she did that, Kai would kill himself, and that alone scared her, forcing her to hang on to life. The both of them were torturing themselves because their loved one refused to yield.
After cleaning up, Kai headed for his room. Inside wasn't anything to look at. A small mat at the side of the room was where he slept, and the only other things there were his cupboard and the massive VR pod at the center.
The pod alone took a majority of the room. It was worn down and held together by tape and screws. He bought it off someone who had a yard sale. It wasn't much, but it allowed him to stream and play games.
It had a seat and a helmet, which allowed him to feel the best feedback whenever he was in game.
"Alright, let's do this," he said, smiling as he walked to the pod. He dug his hands into his pocket and pulled out a memory card.
This was the newest released game, Ascension Online. It was released a few months ago, and its popularity had skyrocketed, reaching levels no other game had reached before, with its near perfect gameplay. It was the pinnacle of immersion, and with each update, it pushed that even further.
Kai didn't have the money to purchase it for the last few months, so when he got a gift on his last stream, he squeezed a bit to get the game.
He believed that if there was a way for him to get more views, it would be this game.
Kai walked to the side of the pod and clicked a button, and immediately the old memory card for the last game he played popped out. He inserted the new one.
After that, he sat into the pod and turned it on. It let out a deep humming sound, and the LED lights came on. Finally, he picked up the headset and put it on, the final piece, and immediately his mind was pulled in.
He got ready to see the start screen of the game first, but then the game glitched. His pod banged and pounded like it was about to explode. The screen showed more glitches, and then suddenly it switched to a new view.